![]() The Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014, is used by the Kremlin as a staging area for the war in the south, and its rail lines and roads have been critical to transporting troops, equipment, and fuel to the Russian frontline, per the ISW. Russia has lost much of its ability to blockade a shipping corridor established by Ukraine this summer in the Black Sea, which is vital to Ukraine's economy.Īnd Ukrainian strikes are inflicting serious damage to some Russian airfields and air defenses, softening up Crimea for a potential fresh wave of attacks, wrote the think-tank.Īll of this has weakened Crimea's potential as a "springboard" for Russia's operations in southern Ukraine, where Moscow has for months been trying to stave off Kyiv's counter-offensive. The withdrawal is still likely a significant win for Ukraine, according to the ISW's assessment. "Though BSF elements remain capable of conducting most wartime operations, and assertions Ukraine has driven away or defeated the BSF are premature." "Ukrainian strikes against BSF naval assets and repair facilities in Crimea may be preventing BSF naval elements from fully conducting their desired missions," wrote the think-tank. Russia earlier this month pulled back two frigates, three submarines, five landing ships, and several smaller vessels from Sevastopol.īut it's too early to tell if the Black Sea Fleet has truly been crippled, the ISW wrote. Ukraine hammered the Black Sea Fleet in September with a series of long-range missile strikes and drone attacks, hitting a shipyard, a fleet headquarters in Sevastopol, and docked warships. The Black Sea Fleet might sound like a naval-only formation, but it's actually a "major combined arms formation" with surface-to-surface missile batteries, air defenses, and infantry, the ISW added. "Strikes on Black Sea Fleet assets are degrading its role as a combined arms headquarters but have not defeated it as a naval force," it wrote. While the Black Sea Fleet has been weakened in its role as a combined arms headquarters, many of its assets can still be used to fight the war, the US-based think tank wrote in a special assessment on Sunday. Ukraine's campaign of strikes on Russian military assets in Crimea has been "degrading" Moscow's Black Sea Fleet but hasn't defeated it, according to the Institute for the Study of War. Still, Ukraine's attacks have left the rear of Russia's southern front vulnerable, per the ISW. ![]() Many of its vessels are withdrawn, but it's premature to say the fleet is beaten, said the ISW. ![]() Russia's Black Sea Fleet has been weakened in Crimea, but not defeated, per a US-based think-tank. ![]()
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